Date: 24 June 2025
From: Men Helpline Org

Men Helpline has issued an open letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council, raising strong concerns about the biased report A/HRC/59/47 by Special Rapporteur Reem Alsalem. The report unfairly portrays men only as perpetrators and women only as victims — ignoring the reality of male victims of domestic violence, false accusations, legal harassment, and suicides.

We, the Men Helpline Organization — supporting men who are facing domestic violence, false accusations, gender-biased laws, and mental health crises — strongly object to the biased approach taken in the recent United Nations report titled:

“Sex-based violence against women and girls: new frontiers and emerging issues” (A/HRC/59/47) submitted by Special Rapporteur Reem Alsalem.

Such gender bias in international reports promotes discrimination, fuels one-sided laws, and denies justice to men and boys.

Our Concerns: (stereotypes version of report)

Biased Narrative

The report presents men only as perpetrators and women only as victims. It ignores the lived reality that men and boys also face violence, harassment, false cases, and discrimination under current gender-biased systems.

Denial of Harassment with Men

Nowhere does the report acknowledge male victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse of boys, or men driven to suicide by false allegations and harassment — all well documented across many countries.

Promotion of Legal Discrimination with Men

By asking States to make laws even more sex-specific (female-only protections), the report promotes policies that violate the basic human right of equality before law. Men would continue to be denied protections even when facing violence or false charges.

Ignoring the Issue of False Accusations

False cases under laws like IPC 498A (anti-dowry), false rape or molestation accusations are a growing epidemic in countries like India. Innocent men face arrest, loss of career, family breakdown, social stigma, and even suicide — yet this reality is completely missing in the report.

Silence on Male Suicide Crisis

According to the National Crime Records Bureau of India, over 70% of suicides are by men — often due to legal harassment, family breakdown, and gender bias. The UN report ignores this massive human rights crisis.

Report Discards the Reality

Yet — the report completely ignores the reality of harassment with men and instead promotes a narrative that:

Only women and girls are victims of “sex-based violence”
Men are the presumed perpetrators of all violence
There is no mention of the misuse of gender laws, false accusations, or the suicide crisis among men

Our Appeal to the United Nations:

• Recognize that men and boys also face gender-based violence and discrimination.
• Future reports must include male victims and be written in a gender-neutral, objective way — not using one-sided narratives.
• Promote gender-neutral laws that protect all citizens equally, regardless of sex.
• Address the growing global concern of false accusations and the legal system’s bias against men.
• Include male suicide linked to gender-based discrimination as a key human rights issue.
• Discard the Reem Alsalem’s biased report.

The United Nations must not allow its human rights mechanisms to become tools of gender bias. Equality before law, fairness, and neutrality are fundamental values. No human — whether male or female — should be treated as guilty by assumption or denied protection from violence and injustice.

We urge the Human Rights Council to take immediate steps to correct this imbalance and stand for human rights for all.

Refer the attached report for reference.

Women Reservation Bill has potential affect on man-woman relations. The feminist-led approach of the BJP-led government has made them ignorant of family values which has disappointed mens right activists.

We forsee that the Women Reservation Bill will have a negative impact on man-woman relations in the future or at most in two and a half decades.

If we examine the government’s approach in bills like the “Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita” or the “Women Reservation” bill, it predominantly focuses on empowering women without adequately considering the potential impacts on relationships between men and women or addressing men’s issues.

In a family or society, typically comprises of both males and females, the government’s exclusive focus on empowering women will weaken the foundation of trust and affect relationships between men and women. Since independence, no government has taken a significant stand to strengthen family traditions and values, often disregarding men’s issues. This neglect has resulted to the end of joint family traditions, leading to weaker family structures.

Even if the government acknowledges certain issues or any ugly traditions, then the reservation should be time bounded and subject to periodic review rather than being made permanent. The BJP-led government’s constitutional amendments, which established permanent reservations, are conflicting with the principles of natural justice and equality.

The government should have rather brought any act than decision to ammend the constitution which is permanent in nature. If a certain percentage is allotted to women then at least the same number should be reserved for men also in order to ensure the principles of equality.

Every law passed by a government affects the lives of its citizens. These effects go beyond just legal compliance and can extend into broader aspects of society. It influence the culture, social norms, it plays crucial role in shaping the level of trust and bond, which in turn affects the relationships and family values.

Effective family dynamics often thrive on mutual support, understanding, and collaboration between its members, regardless of gender. When one gender is exclusively empowered, it disrupts the balance, and potentially straining relationships which basically weakens the family tradition.

Therefore, a more inclusive approach to empowerment, where both men and women are supported and encouraged, can help maintain harmony.

Our post on social media:

Read the Women Reservation Bill: